Leaves of Turf is a game-by-game, season-long series of football verse by TWER poet lAUreate Amorak Huey. His first poem can be found here, his second here.
Game 3 vs. Clemson, Sept. 18, 2010
The Tigers
Tigers vs. Tigers, burning bright
On the plains this late-summer night,
What “GameDay” talking head or mouth
Can predict this battle of the South?
In which end zone or backfield
Will we find the first to yield?
Whose defense is most lacking depth?
Which Auburn offense to expect?
Fannin’s shoulder, Ziemba’s knee –
Staying healthy is one key.
Last week our dreams began to crumble
With every missed pass or McCalebb stumble.
But hope is born anew each week,
When the drums begin to beat,
When the eagle takes the sky
And the ball begins to fly.
In this furnace will be forged
One 3-0 record for the team that soars.
Wonder whose hand will seize this fire?
I’ll tell you now: His name is Dyer.
Tigers vs. Tigers, burning bright
On the plains this late-summer night,
Who cares what “GameDay” has to say?
No more talk. Just watch ’em play.
…
Amorak Huey didn’t go to Auburn, but he did have a fake Auburn ID so he could sit in the Jordan-Hare student section throughout his college years. A graduate of Birmingham-Southern College, Amorak spent fifteen years as a newspaper reporter and editor at papers in Florida, Kentucky and Michigan. Two years ago, he left his job as assistant sports editor at The Grand Rapids Press to take a position teaching writing at Grand Valley State University. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Western Michigan University, and his poetry has appeared in a number of literary journals. He lives in East Grand Rapids, Mich., with his wife and two children. You can find him online at www.amorakhuey.net.
Very well done! The poems are a nice addition to the W.E.R.!